This invention relates generally to a record player system and more particularly to a pneumatic record player system comprising an air-cushioned turntable platter with a straightly-travelling air-cushioned tonearm.
There have been provided several solutions in the art to make a stabilization of a rotation of a turntable platter to eliminate its vibration or rumber, wow and flutter. Multiplying the weight of a turntable platter or employing a high-quality motor, precise in operation, for driving a turntable platter are conventional ways and obvious in the art. However, it has been found that the mentioned conventional prior arts are not so preferable in use since the weighting of a turntable platter consequently brings about a need for a peculiarly-framed stiff and accurate bearing means for the turntable platter, and such a high-quality motor of an audio apparatus is very expensive. Employing a weighted turntable platter incorporated with a conventional bearing means is rather desirable and preferable.
In addition, in the prior art driving systems for the turntable platter, such as a rim-drive system which energizes a turntable platter with a motor via an idler means, a belt-drive system employing a pulley-belt engagement for a turntable platter rotation, and a direct-drive system wherein a turntable platter is substantially incorporated with a driving shaft of a motor, it has been found that the direct-drive system is comparably reliable and superior in operation. The direct-drive system never includes in the provability of slippages between each driving or transmitting means since it does not employ, substantially, any intermediate means for driving the turntable platter. It has been found that the direct-drive system is superior on some features as Signal to Noise Ratio or so forth.
As to a tonearm of a recond player, it has long been desired to attain a mechanism which operates as a cutting lathe of making an original record master. An original record master is cut or engraded by a stylus of a cutting lathe moving on a radius-line of a record circle from a peripheral position to the center, straightly, forming phonogram grooves, whereas a conventional tonearm is formed in elongated shape and rotatably pivoted on a proper portion of a player surface adjacent to a turntable platter with a vertical post means. Accordingly, a tracking of a stylus of a conventional tonearm which travels in an arc-line is inevitably not identical with the original tracking of a cutting lathe of its stylus. The difference between two travelling paths of two trackings is called "tracking error" which is preferable to be reduced as much as possible for an accurate playback of an audio apparatus. Quite recently, a straight-line tracking mechanism comprising a sliding transversly elongated tonearm mounted on a straight horizontally elongated beam means which is departed from a player surface and supported with a fixing means near the turntable platter has been provided. However, the provided prior straight-line tracking mechanism is not so practical since it employs a peculiar complicated mechanical-synchronous means for deriving the sliding tonearm, e.g. with a gear engagement or so forth.